Friday, November 14, 2008

Do free markets corrode moral character? Here is part of the response to that question from Tyler Cowen, Holbert C. Harris Professor of Economics and Director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His latest book is Discover Your Inner Economist, and he blogs at www.marginalrevolution.com.

"Markets allow productive people to provide extraordinary service to generations of their fellow human beings: by inventing new drugs,developing labor-saving devices, or finding cheaper, more efficient ways to supply the world with food. !e chance to become wealthy is often an incentive for such creative types, and ego and ambition are also prime factors. But we should not confuse these motivations with bad character. Markets make it possible to harness our desire for wealth and personal distinction to our more altruistic impulses. They spark us to do good by doing well. And, of course, they create the means for people to donate their wealth and labor to a range of philanthropic causes."